Old-Growth Forests of the Southern Blue Ridge
The surviving stands of mature forest near Helen, and how to read an old forest when you walk through one
The short answer
Most of the forest you see around Helen grew back after the big cutting of the late 1800s and early 1900s, which is why real old-growth stands are rare and special. Some of the best places to see the trees that came before are within a day trip.
This page explains what makes a forest "old growth," then points you to the few places worth a drive. Because many of the details are disputed or hard to verify, we've kept to what public sources say.
Places to go
| Place | From Helen | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sosebee Cove | About 31 miles, 45 minutes | A 175-acre, high-elevation, north-facing cove forest in the Chattahoochee National Forest near Blairsville, in the Blue Ridge Ranger District. The trail is dedicated to Arthur Woody, who negotiated the purchase. It has a rich variety of shade-tolerant trees, shrubs and wildflowers. |
| Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (North Carolina) | About 110 miles, 3.5 hours or more | A 3,800-acre tract of publicly owned old-growth forest in the Nantahala National Forest, with an easy 2-mile figure-eight trail and giant tulip-poplars. It's one of the largest contiguous tracts of old growth in the eastern U.S. |
Sources: Sosebee Cove and Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Check the Forest Service alerts page for closures before driving to Sosebee Cove.
What makes a forest old growth
A big tree isn't the same as an old forest. Ecologists look at the structure of the whole stand, not just the age of a few trees. A forest that has stood for a long time tends to be messy: many layers of trees, lots of dead wood, uneven ground and a strong spring wildflower show.
| Sign | What to look for |
|---|---|
| A layered canopy | Trees of many ages and heights, with gaps where big trees have fallen. |
| Dead wood | Standing dead trees and logs at different stages of decay, which shelter salamanders, insects and fungi. |
| Uneven ground | Pits and mounds left by uprooted trees, in soil that was never plowed or graded. |
| Wildflower carpets | Dense spring wildflowers in rich coves are a sign of soil that has been left alone. |
| Large old trees | Thick, deeply furrowed bark and broad crowns on trees much larger than their neighbors. |
Why so little survived
Industrial logging took most of the original forest in the Southern Appalachians. The Chattahoochee National Forest was built from cut-over land that the federal government bought after the Weeks Act of 1911, and it was proclaimed in 1936.
Arthur Woody, the Barefoot Ranger
Ranger Arthur Woody (1884 to 1946) is the person most tied to protecting these woods. According to his biography, he served as a forest ranger in Georgia from 1912 to 1945 and helped the Forest Service acquire the land that became the Chattahoochee National Forest. He is credited with bringing deer back to the north Georgia mountains, stocking rainbow and brown trout, and restoring turkey and black bear populations. The Sosebee Cove trail is named for him.
Visiting well
Go in spring
Cove forests are at their best in April and May, when wildflowers carpet the ground. See our spring wildflowers guide.
Stay on the trail
Rich forest soil and the plants on it are easy to damage.
Leave the dead wood
Fallen logs and snags are wildlife habitat. Don't move them or take them for firewood.
Look up
Check overhead for dead limbs on windy days.
Keep exploring
Our Southern Appalachian ecology guide covers the forest community, the native plants guide covers the understory, and Vogel State Park is nearby for a longer day.
Related Imagery from Around Helen
